Ladybug left Adrien's around four in the morning, before anyone else in the house would be awake.
When she got back home she detransformed and lay down in her bed. Now that the Black Cat Miraculous and the Miracle Box were out of her room, Marinette felt so much more at ease.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep, not waking up until her alarm sounded.
Three hours was definitely not enough time, but at least she got some rest. She groggily silenced the alarm and got up to get dressed and use the bathroom. The very last thing that she did before leaving was something she was dreading.
After putting the tracking device back into its hidden compartment, she snapped the pendant closed and put the necklace around her neck.
Tikki watched her. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
Marinette nodded. "He needs to think that things are normal. He can't suspect that we figured anything out."
"And you're not going to tell Adrien?"
"Not yet," she replied, avoiding eye contact. She grabbed her backpack off of the floor. "We should go."
The kwami flew into her purse and Marinette went downstairs.
************************************
A few blocks away, Adrien got ready for school with a smile on his face. Having Marinette in his bed that morning was a dream come true, and he enjoyed every second of it.
He was disappointed when she insisted on leaving, but he understood. They couldn't risk anyone catching her there. There would be no way to explain how she got in his room. Nevermind the fact that his father would murder him if he found Marinette in his bed.
Once dressed and ready, he went to the bedroom door and opened it up. His father was waiting for him outside.
Adrien stopped and glared up at him.
"Adrien," Gabriel started, "I wanted to apologize for my outburst yesterday. What I said was inexcusable, and I want you to know that I'm truly sorry about what I said. Marinette is a lovely young lady and she's welcome here anytime."
Adrien kept staring at his father. He didn't believe one word that came out of his mouth. "Your apology is accepted," he lied.
Gabriel nodded. "Very well. Why don't you invite her over for dinner again tonight?"
"I will."
He nodded again. "Now that that's taken care of, let's go eat breakfast." He turned and walked downstairs, Adrien following behind.
They both sat in their places and started eating. Adrien looked up at his father every once in a while. He just didn't understand him. Why was he lying about liking Marinette? And why did he want her to come over all the time?
Maybe his father had finally gone off the deep end. Ever since his mother's disappearance, Gabriel seemed to be moving further and further away from being a sane human being.
Maybe that had something to do with the situation now. Maybe his father saw his happy relationship with Marinette and it reminded him of his wife. Maybe he was jealous of them on some level.
Adrien tried to clear his mind. He didn't really care what the reason behind it was. Marinette was his whole world now. As long as the two of them were together, nothing else mattered.
He didn't need his father's approval to continue dating Marinette. And he wouldn't need his father's permission to marry her. After he turned eighteen he would be free to do whatever he pleased. They would just have to hang in there for the next three years.
And they wouldn't need his father's money. Adrien was constantly being solicited by other modeling agencies. He would simply sign with one of them and then be able to make his own income.
Not to mention, Marinette was so talented with her fashion designs. Maybe she would become a huge success and make more money than him.
And even if none of that happened, they would be fine. Rich, poor or somewhere in the middle, they would be happy. Adrien would do anything he needed to do in order to protect and provide for her.
Whatever the future held, they would be together. Anything that happened, they would get through it. Because they had each other. That was all they needed.
With a smile Adrien finished his breakfast and left the dining room, not saying a word.
************************************
He found her in Miss Bustier's class. Running up, he pulled her to her feet and tipped her backwards in a passionate kiss.
Alya's scream of excitement alerted everyone to the fact that Adrien and Marinette were dating again.
A round of applause broke out in the classroom as he straightened her up and gazed into her eyes. "Hey," he whispered.
Marinette tried to regain her focus, but she was too busy swooning from the kiss. "Hey," she finally got out.
"Alright students!" Miss Bustier announced. "Class is starting."
Adrien guided Marinette down to her seat, then kissed her hand before letting go and sitting down.
"Way to go, dude," Nino whispered over to him, extending his fist out.
He fist bumped his friend and turned his attention to the lesson, the smile refusing to leave his face.
************************************
The couple snuck away to an empty classroom after their first class.
After a quick makeout session, Adrien pulled back to look at her. "Thank you so much for visiting me this morning. I had such a wonderful time with you."
"You're welcome," she replied, gently running her fingers around his face. "Adrien, there's something really important that we need to talk about. Will you come over to my house after school today?"
"My father actually invited you to come over for dinner tonight."
Marinette blinked at him. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"It's okay, don't be embarrassed about what happened..."
"No, it's not that," she interrupted. "It's just better if we go to my place."
Adrien nodded. "That sounds great." He pulled her in for another quick kiss.
They were about to head to class when both of their phones buzzed.
Checking the message, a whisper escaped Marinette's lips. "What in the..."
Adrien looked up at her after seeing the same alert on his phone. "There's an akuma attack. What do we do?"
She started to panic. "I... I guess I have to go."
"Do you have my ring with you?"
"No, I don't. I'll have to go alone this time."
"No way," he objected. "I'm not letting you go out there by yourself. Bring me my ring and I'll help you."
She shook her head. "You can't have your ring. That's one of the things we need to talk about later."
"I'm not letting you go out there by yourself," he repeated.
"I'll be fine," she said, determined. "You stay here and cover for me. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Adrien grabbed her hand before she could walk away. "Marinette, I can't let you go. Not without me there to protect you."
Her heart broke a little at seeing the desperation in his eyes. He just wanted to be there with her. But there was no other option.
"I'm sorry Adrien. We'll figure out a better arrangement later, but right now I need to go. I promise that I'll be okay." She leaned in and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. After a few seconds she pulled away. "I love you, I'll be back soon."
Adrien watched her leave, his heart aching. He wanted to go with her more than anything, but all he could do was slowly make his way to his next class.
Marinette rushed down the hallway and into the girl's bathroom. "Tikki," she said once she was inside. "Why do you think he's doing this?"
The kwami appeared in front of her. "I don't know. Maybe he's getting impatient? I mean, he thinks that you don't know Chat Noir's identity, so maybe he's going back to his old plan?"
The girl groaned. "We won't have any help this time. It's only us right now."
"I know we can do this Marinette!"
She nodded, her confidence returning. "Tikki, spots on!"
Once transformed into Ladybug, she jumped up to the window ledge and swung off with her yo-yo. She had no idea how she was going to explain why Chat Noir wouldn't be there, but she would worry about that later.
The akumatized villain was near city hall, so she was there in minutes. As soon as she landed in front of him, however, he was surrounded by purple bubbles and released from the akumatization.
Ladybug simply stared at the man left behind in disbelief.
"How... how did I get here?" he asked bewildered.
She walked up to him. "You were akumatized. But you're back to normal now."
"Oh, thank you Ladybug!"
She shook her head. "Don't thank me, I didn't do anything. Will you be okay to get back home by yourself?"
"I'll be fine. And thank you again!" he called to her as he walked away.
"But I didn't do anything," she mumbled to herself before taking off again.
Ladybug quickly swung back to school and detransformed in the girl's bathroom.
"What do you think that was all about?" Tikki asked Marinette.
"I have no idea, but right now I need to get to class." She put her palm up to her forehead. "Ugh, Mrs Mandeleiev is going to be so mad that I'm late."
Tikki gasped. "Marinette! Your necklace!"
The girl froze before slowly tilting her head to look down. Sure enough, the necklace was right there. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "That's it. He was checking to see if it was really me. That's why he called off the akuma as soon as we got there!"
"Well, that definitely explains it. And now he'll believe that you have no idea about the tracking device."
Marinette nodded. "Good. He can't suspect that anything is wrong." She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Come on Tikki, we really have to go."